A Dream To Go Back Home
by Amira77
Summary: Edward still hasn't given up on finding a way back home. When he's studying rocketry in Germany he hears rumors about a Red Witch. He embarks on a journey to keep her away from the military while still looking for a way home. (Edward x OC maybe) (Takes place during the Conqueror of Shambala time period) (AU)
1. Chapter 1

"You're leaving, again?" A man asked as he looked at his son through his glasses. His son had his back turned to him as he finished packing his suit case.

"It's another lead." His son replied as his hazel eyes looked at the sun through the

window. "I have to go and make sure." He sighed and looked back down at his suit case.

"Edward-"

"It's no use trying to stop me." Edward replied as he closed his suit case.

"I'm not trying to stop you." His father replied. "I'm trying to warn you. Many rumors of that town have spread around the country. It's not a safe place. People go missing everyday."

Edward stared out the window, again. This time keeping his eyes on two young boys that chased each other around the streets, swiftly making their way through the crowd. He frowned a bit as an image flashed through his mind.

"That doesn't matter to me." Edward replied as he turned to face his father with a serious

look on his face. "I have to go... I have to find a way back... back to Alphonse... back to everyone..." He said as a fire burned in his hazel eyes.

His father sighed, knowing all too well that he wouldn't be able to stop him. After all, he was his son. He smiled a bit and stood up, placing his hands on his son's shoulders.

"Take care." He said and took a note of how much taller Edward was, but he was still short in comparison.

Two years had passed since they made into this world. A world where Alchemy was only a legend and deemed as 'magic' or 'miracles'. Edward was now seventeen and was still searching for a way back to the other side of the gate and he would probably continue to do so until he found it.

"Yeah, don't worry about me, old man." Edward said as he grabbed his suitcase and headed out the door. "See ya." He said as the door closed.

Edward walked down the stairs to the first floor, waving at the familiar faces of his neighbors. He exited the building and stood basking in the sun's warmth for a bit. He sighed and began his way through the crowded street down to the train station. Once again he waved to all of those who knew him and made small conversations with them, but they didn't last very long since he was trying to catch his train. The train station was crowded as usual. Where all these people went or came from was unknown to him. It seemed like he never saw the same face twice in this train station. He glanced at his watch.

"Ten twenty-seven." He said to himself as he spotted his train.

He had about three minutes to get through the crowd of people and onto the train. He didn't mind shoving a few people out the way in order to get through. He managed to get on the train in time. As usual, the all the train cars were packed. It was rare to have a seat to yourself. He managed to have found a seat beside a woman and her child. Of course it was the window seat, he always got the window seat.

"Hey, mommy, look his arm is weird!" The small child said and caught a glimpse of his mechanical arm.

"Hush, now, it's not nice to say rude things like 'weird'." The mother scolded.

Edward smiled, "It's fine." He said and looked at the small boy. He looked a lot like Alphonse. "You want to see it?" Ed asked as he pulled up his sleeve to reveal his prosthetic limb.

"Whoooaa, super cool!" The kid said as he reached for it, but stopped at the last moment.

"It's okay, you can touch it." Ed said with a smile.

The boy looked at his mother, who only smiled in returned. The boy's face lit up and he touched the metal arm. He was amazed by it.

"Does it hurt?" They boy asked and turned his attention back to Ed.

Ed was a bit surprised by his question and smiled sadly. "Some times."

"Now, now, don't ask questions like that." The woman said as she moved a strand of blond hair behind her ear.

"Don't worry about it." Ed said with a smile as he ruffled the kid's hair. "I'm used to it."

The woman smiled kindly and looked back at her son as the train finally started to move. Edward turned to look back out the window and saw the several people pass by until they finally left the station. It wasn't long before they scenery change to that of plains and the occasional trees. He felt a sense of nostalgia wash over him. It reminded him of when his travels back in the his world. His eyes became clouded with a bit of sadness as he remember all those times.

"Hey, mister," The boy said snapping Ed out of his thoughts.

"Hm?" Ed hummed as he turned back to look at the kid.

"Are you hurting?" The boy asked with large brown eyes filled with innocence.

Once again, Ed was taken by surprise by the kid's question. He looked at his arm for a moment and then back out the window.

"Yeah..."

* * *

"This place is pretty shabby." Edward said as he looked at the run down station. Unlike the other stations that were made of stone and brick, this one was made of wood. He and about four others were the only ones that got off and the train left immediately after that. He pulled off his black coat and slung it over his shoulder, it was definitely a lot hotter here. He headed off in the direction of the small town and looked around for a cab.

"You need somewhere to go, shrimp?"

Ed's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. It's been two years and that nickname seems to haunt him.

"What?" Ed asked in a slightly threatening voice as he turned to face the man.

The man smirked, his mustache twitching when he did. He was the usual middle aged taxi driver.

"You need somewhere to go, kid?" The man asked, this time deciding to leave the insults for later.

"I'm seventeen you know." Ed mumbled as he pulled out a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Do you know where this town is?" He said and handed the small piece of paper to the man.

The man looked at the paper and suddenly became serious. "Sorry, I can't get you there." The man said abruptly as he shoved the paper back into Edward's hand.

"What? Why not?" Edward demanded.

The man looked around for a moment, "That place is bad luck." He said in a low voice. "Anyone who goes there never returns." He said as he pulled out a cigarette. "They all get killed by the Red Witch."

"Red Witch?" Edward asked, a bit intrigued by this new piece of information.

"Yeah," The man said as he lit the cigarette and place it in his mouth. "Rumor has it that she takes the souls of villagers and uses them for her dark magic." He said in a matter-of-factly tone. "They sa-"

"What did I tell you about spreading rumors?!" A woman said as she smacked the man in the head.

"O-Ow!" The man said and shielded himself from any other attacks.

"There's no such thing as dark magic or witches." The woman scolded and turned over to Edward. "Sorry about that, he's a little crazy in the head." She said with a smile. "He'll be more than glad to drive you down to the village."

"W-what?!" The man protested, but the woman glared at him and he sunk by down.

"Ah, thanks." Edward said as he sweatdropped, but was grateful nonetheless.

The man mumbled to himself as he got into the black car and Ed got into the backseat. The engine roared to life and soon enough they driving through the streets of the small town. Passing by several street markets and people. There weren't many cars around, most people seemed to be walking. It seemed like a poor town, but happy.

"Hey, old man." Ed said as he looked a the man through the rear view mirror.

"What?" The man replied and glanced at Ed.

"Tell me more about this Red Witch." Ed said as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

The man smirked, "She recently moved into the town about five years ago." The man began. "No one knows where she came from, one day she just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. A girl with hair the same color as blood and eyes as green as a snake's skin. Rumor says that when she first appeared she was no older than ten. A couple, who had lost their children in a fire accident, took the girl in as their own. No one else seemed willing to because of the strange red hair of hers. The people of the village said that she was always drawing these odd circles in the ground."

"Circles?" Edward asked as he leaned forward a bit. "What kind of circles?"

The man shrugged, "Who knows? They said that they were intricate and complicated to describe."

Ed leaned back a bit. "_Could it be... that she was drawing transmutation circles?" _He wondered.

"But one day one of those circles lit up and flames burned up the house where she was staying." The man said snapping Ed of out of his thoughts.

"_She found a way to use Alchemy in this world? Could it be? The break through I was looking for?" _Ed thought as the road became bumpy and the town disappeared behind them.

"They say that those were the very flames from hell. They burned the same red as her hair and didn't seem to go out. Then from within the flames... the girl came out, not a single scratch or burn on her." He paused for a moment. "The couple was killed in the fire and the girl was feared by everyone. Apparently the girl had been mad at the two because they wouldn't let her go outside and play. So she ended up killing them. That's how she got the title of the 'Red Witch'. Many people fled the village saying that she was going to wipe them off the face of the earth, but many also came to the village to see what she was. However, many of those who entered never returned for some reason or another." The man shrugged. "It's all very suspicious, if you ask me."

"Yeah, very suspicious." Edward mumbled to himself as he rubbed his chin.

"So why are you going to _that_ village?" The man asked.

"I heard rumors of a woman that could fix things with her 'magic'. I wanted to come see if that was true." Edward said.

"Hmm." The man hummed thoughtfully. "They must have got the story wrong."

"Yeah..." Ed said and watched as the trees passed by. His mind focused on how the two rumors could tie together or if maybe it was two different people.

"Hey, kid." The man said catching Ed's attention. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm a bit curious. What happened to your arm?"

"Ah, this?" Ed said and moved his sleeved up again. "I lost it in an accident during the war."

"Must be tough." The man said and kept his eyes on the road. "I heard that the war took a lot from many people." He said and moved the cigarette around a bit. "Since we're so far out in the country, we weren't affected much. We only heard what came on the radio and the rumors that soldiers told." He explained as the car came to a slow stop. Ed looked around and realized that they still hadn't reached the village.

"Something wrong?" Ed asked.

"Sorry, but this is as far as I can take you." The man said as he looked back at Ed. "After this the roads get really bumpy and unmanageable. Don't worry though, the village is right over there." He said and pointed off to the east. In the distance small houses could be seen. "It shouldn't take long to get there by foot." '

Ed sighed as he gathered his things. "Thanks, old man. How much do I owe ya?" He asked as he stepped out the car.

"Nothing, it's free of charge." The man said with a smile. "Use that money to buy yourself some milk and get a bit taller." He said and left Edward in the dust.

"WHO YOU CALLING SHORT?!" Edward yelled as he shook his fist in the air. He mumbled things about not being short as he angrily marched his way to the small village. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Three forty-two." He said to himself as he shaded his eyes from the sun. "Man, it's hot."

* * *

By the time Edward had reached the village, he had stripped himself from everything, but his pants.

"Why is it so hot?!" He complained as he came into the sight a few villagers, who gave him a strange look. He cleared his throat and decided that he would be better off at least trying to act like a normal person. He quickly put his shirt and vest back on before anyone else could see him.

As he ventured through the village, he came to realize that it wasn't a very modern town, but despite it's size, there were plenty of people there. The town was buzzing with commotion. The first thing Ed did was find a cheap place where he could stay. After a bit of searching, he found a small inn in the center of the village for a reasonable price. It wasn't anything special, it was more like a two-story house that had been turned into the inn. Although, the people were very friendly and welcoming.

"You're not from around here, are you?" The woman asked as she led Edward up to his room. She was old and for once, shorter than Edward.

"Nope." Edward replied as the woman opened the door to one of the rooms.

"I can tell by the way you're dressed. You come from on the bigger towns. " She said and motioned for him to enter the room. It was as simple as the inn was. A bed in the corner of the room, a nightstand with an oil-lamp, a dresser and a window with a view of the streets. "So what brings you to our small town?"

"I'm searching for a woman." Ed said as he set his suitcase on the bed. The woman laughed and Ed looked at her in confusion. "A woman, ey?" She smirked up at him. "Well, don't worry!" The woman said and slapped Ed on the back. "There are plenty of pretty girls in this village."

"T-That's not what I meant!" Ed said as he finally understood why she was laughing. "I'm following a few rumors about a certain woman that can use magic!" Ed frantically explained.

The woman stopped laughing and eyed him a bit. "Are you from the army?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"No, why?" Ed asked as his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

The woman seemed to be in thought for a moment. "No reason." She said and waved it off. "Anyway, there's no such thing as magic." She said as she headed for the door. "You should just enjoy the time you have here." She said and closed the door.

Edward listened as the woman's footsteps faded away.

"_Jeez, that wasn't suspicious at all." _Edward thought as he sat on the bed and stared out the window, watching the several people of the village walk by. "_But why did she ask if I was from the military? Is it because of they way I'm dressed?" _He thought as he looked at himself.

It wasn't much, brown shoes, black pants, a white button up, a brown vest and his black coat - that at the moment was beside him. It was the typical dress wear for the middle class, but it seemed that here middle class was upper class. He noticed that many people didn't have button up shirts or dress pants like he did, much less a vest or coat, and the fact that everyone was walking meant that there were no cars. Probably because they couldn't afford it. It was definitely a poor village, but something wasn't right. The buildings were very similar to those in the town he was currently living, which meant that it would take money to buy them, but no one seemed to buying anything from the market places. Was it because they spent all their money on the buildings?

Edward stood up and stretched a bit. He decided that he would be better off asking around for that magic lady or Red Witch or whatever she was called. He grabbed his coat and headed out. A minute later he was out in the streets basking in the sunlight. He looked around and spotted a merchant. He decided to ask them first.

"Excuse me, sir." Edward said and caught the attention of the merchant.

"Can I help you?" The merchant said with eyes that raked him up in down. This boy could be a good catch for the day.

"Yeah, I've heard rumors of a certain woman that can use magic." Ed replied as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

The man's demeanor changed and he almost glared at Edward. "Sorry, never heard of her. Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to make business." The man said coldly.

Edward sighed and decided to move on and ask some others, but it seemed like the result was all the same.

"Sorry, never heard of her." "You're from the military, aren't you?" "I swear I haven't done anything!" "Don't stick your nose in others' business, kid." "Magic doesn't exist, you stupid boy." "You have no business here, go somewhere else." "She doesn't exist." "It's just a rumor."

Edward sighed in frustration as he sat on a bench. "Gah! This is so hopeless!" He said as he pulled at his hair. It was pretty obvious that they were hiding something and that they didn't want the military to find out about it, but he wasn't part of the military. "Why are these people so uncooperative?!" He stretched his arms out on the bench and leaned his head back. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"O-ow."

Edward opened his eyes and looked at the small crying girl that was on the ground not too far away from him. He looked around and waited to see if her parents came, but they didn't. Edward stood up and kneeled beside the the girl.

"You okay there?" He asked and she shook her head in response. "Where are your parents? I'll take them to them." He said and picked the girl up.

"No! I don't want to go to them!" The girl said and glared at him through teary eyes. "I want to go see the Mistress!"

"Mistress?" Ed asked.

She nodded her head as she wiped away her tears. "She can fix anything. Even my broken doll!" She said and held out the rag doll that had it's arm ripped from the body.

Edward sighed, "You mean seamstress."

The girl shook her head. "No, Mistress! She doesn't use a needle! She can use magic!"

Ed looked at the girl and wondered if this was the lead he was looking for. "Where is this 'Mistress'? I think I can take you to her since it looks like you scratched your leg up." He said and motioned to the girl's knee.

The girl's face lit up, "Really?!" She beamed as she clutched the doll closely to her.

"Sure, but let's get that cleaned up first." Ed said and sat her down on the bench.

"Kay!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Edward asked the girl, who was now on his back. They were walking down a path through a forest area outside of the village, and it was starting to creep him out a bit.

"Mhm!" She said and nodded her head furiously. "This is they way I always take! But we have to get her some flowers first!" She said and pointed at the small white flowers by the pathway. "She loves flowers."

"Really?" He asked as he picked up a few of the flowers and handed it to the girl.

"Yeah! She's always making a crown of flowers for me!" She beamed as she clutched the flowers close to her. "She tells me that I'm a princess!"

"Well, of course you are." Edward said and smiled back at the girl. "You look just like one." He said. The girl blushed, but smiled nonetheless. "Say, why don't you tell me you tell me your name?"

"Nina!" She said happily.

Ed froze and stared at the empty space in front of him as the name rang in his head.

"Nina..." He whispered as images began to flood his head, images of the Nina he used to know before... _that_ happened. It still pained him just as it pained him to think about anything about the other world.

"Mister?" Nina asked a bit worried.

He smiled and looked back at the girl and for a moment he saw her. He blinked and he was back to reality. They girl was different from the Nina he knew. This girl had chin length black hair and crystal blue eyes.

"Sorry," He said and brought a smile back to his face. "I was just remembering something." He said as he began walking, trying to shake off his previous thoughts. "Anyway, just how far away is this place?"

"Uhm..." The girl said as she tapped her chin and looked around. "It's close."

"It better be." Edward mumbled to himself. "I don't want to be out here when it's dark. This place gives me the creeps." He said and looked into the forest. He sweatdropped and sighed as he kept walking up the path that seemed to slope upwards.

"Ah, there it is!" Nina said as she nearly jumped off Ed's back.

"Whoa, hold on there." Ed said as he tried to keep her from falling. He slowly knelt down and let her off. A moment later she was running up the hill. Ed sighed and he followed behind at his own pace.

"Mistress! Mistress!" Nina said as she reached the top of the hill and looked around. She spotted the small cabin and a cloaked figure not too far away from it. "Ah, Mistress!" She said happily as she ran up to the cloak figure, the doll and flowers in hand. The figure stood to it's feet and placed the last of the herbs in the basket.

"Nina, shouldn't you be with your mother?" The Mistress asked.

Nina pouted, "She doesn't want to fix my doll. She says that I need a new one." She said and held out the broken doll. "Oh, and I brought you flowers!" She said and held out the slightly worn out flowers. Nina looked up at the cloaked figure. The hood covered most of her face, but Nina could see her lips curve into a smile.

"Thank you, Nina." She said and took the flowers from the small girl. "That's very kind of you."

"Can you fix my doll?" Nina asked with begging eyes.

"Well..." She said and took the doll from her hands and inspected it. It was a simple fix, a needle and some string would do. "Since you brought me flowers and asked nicely."

Nina's face lit up and she laughed. "Can you use your magic! Please, please!" Nina begged as she tugged on the cloak with her small hands.

Edward observed the two from a distance. The woman in the cloak rather suspicious, but she didn't seem to mean any harm. This might actually lead to something.

"Magic? That isn't necessary." She said and ruffled Nina's hair. "All I need is a needle and some string."

"But, but that'll take too long!" Nina complained. "And momma is gonna be mad at me if I'm late for dinner again!"

The Mistress sighed, "Oh, alright." She said as she knelt down and placed the doll on the ground. Nina practically danced around in joy.

Edward watched closely, anticipation building up in the pit of his stomach. He watched the woman put her hands together, almost as if she were praying. Then gently placed her hands on the ground. For a moment nothing happened, but then there was a small crackle of light. His eyes widen as the dust cleared around the doll. It was fixed and that woman used Alchemy to do it.

"_Without a transmutation circle too." _Edward thought as he stared intensely at the cloaked figure. "_But how is she able to use Alchemy here?!" _

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Nina said as she hugged her doll and jumped up and down.

The Mistress smiled and stood up, "Now run along. I'm sure your mother is worried."

"Kay, bye!" Nina said and ran off back in the direction she came from, not noticing that Ed was hiding behind a tree.

The cloak figured watched as Nina disappeared from her sight and her smile slowly disappeared.

"You know it's rude to spy on people." She said bluntly as she turned back to the garden and continued to pick herbs.

Edward stepped out from behind the trees and stared at her.

"You must be new around here. I don't recognize your face." She said as she studied the leaves of the plant she held in her hand.

"That was Alchemy, wasn't it?" Edward asked.

She froze for a moment and narrowed her eyes. She stood up and place the plant in the basket she held. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Edward narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "You didn't use a transmutation circle either."

"Who are you?" She demanded as she watched him carefully.

"Edward Elric." He said and took a step towards her. She tensed and took a stance. Edward held his hands up and stopped moving. "Don't worry I'm not part of the military."

"How do you know that the military is after me?" She hissed.

Edward shrugged, "The townspeople are bad at keeping secrets and not making them obvious." He replied. "Everyone kept asking me if I was part of the military when I brought you up." He said. "And I didn't know, you just told me." He smirked.

She clutched the basket tightly and glared at him, but he couldn't see it. "What do you want from me?"

Edward began to move towards her again, still keeping his hands up as a sign of peace. The woman didn't move and just watched him carefully.

"I just want to know how you're able to use Alchemy in this world." He explained as he slowly let his hands fall to his side now that he was directly in front of her. "And if you've seen _it_."

She was silent for a moment and then looked around. The sky was starting to turn a light pink and the trees casted haunting shadows over the land.

"Come with me." She said as she brushed past him and made her way towards the small cabin. Edward silently followed her into the cabin.

It was dark, the only light coming in from the small window opposite to him. The woman turned on a lamp and the room became illuminated. There wasn't much in the room. There was a sofa in the corner of the room and in front of that there was a coffee table with a book and an empty cup on it. Near the sofa there was an entrance that probably led to the kitchen. The walls were lined with bookshelves that reached up to the ceiling. There was a table with four chairs on the opposite side of the sofa and the lamp sat near the staircases. Edward made his way to one of the bookshelves and ran his left hand across the books. These books were all about Alchemy.

"Take a seat." The woman said as she pulled off her cloak. Ed was surprised to see how young she was, probably not any older than he was. She had long crimson hair that was currently pulled into a braid. Her face was pale and her eyes were emerald green. She wore a simple black dress and black shoes.

Edward sat down at the table and a moment later she took a seat across from him. She stared at him with stern eyes and contemplated on just how to go on about this.

"Mind telling me your name first?" Edward asked as he propped up his elbow on the table and leaned his head on the palm of his hand.

"... Juliet." She replied simply.

"No last name?" Edward asked as he rose an eyebrow.

"I don't need one." She shrugged and leaned back in her chair a bit. "So you know about Alchemy and about _it_?"

"The Truth." Edward said and thought of the things that he saw on that fateful day. "Only those who have seen it can perform Alchemy without transmutation circles." He stated.

Juliet nodded her head. "Are you... from the other side of the gate?"

Edward nodded. "Yeah, are you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I can't remember."

Edward knitted his eyebrows, "You can't remember?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Unfortunately, no... I can only remember seeing The Truth and then waking up here. It's a possibility that maybe I wasn't even from that world."

Edward pondered this for a moment. "But you know about Alchemy as well, right? And you have all these books. I've searched for books on Alchemy, but I've never been able to find them. So how were you able to find these books?" He asked.

Juliet looked out the window for a moment, her eyes were distant as if she were remembering something. "I had connections." She said simply and turned her attention back to Edward. "But you remember about the world on the other side of the gate, right?" She asked. "Is Alchemy really a common thing there?"

"Yeah, anyone can do it if they put their mind to it." He said with a shrug. "But here... it's different... I can't use Alchemy here, even with the transmutation circles."

"It might be because that mechanical arm." Juliet said and pointed to his right arm.

Edward was a bit shocked by this claim. "But I was able to use Alchemy in the other world with this arm." He said and moved his right arm a bit.

"It's just a hypothesis." She shrugged.

"But you, why are you able to use Alchemy here? My father can't use Alchemy here either." He said.

"Your father?" She asked as she became a bit intrigued.

He nodded his head, "He's from the other side too."

"Who else is from the other side?" She asked as she leaned forward a bit.

"Well, no one that I know of... but I've seen a lot of people that look like the people from the other side of the gate." He said and leaned back a bit. "Bu-"

_**KNOCK KNOCK**_

"Open up!" A man's voice boomed as he knocked on the door to the cabin. "We know you're in there Juliet! We have orders to bring you back to base!"

Juliet shot out her chair and glared at the door and then at Edward.

"You!" She hissed and pulled him out his chair by the front of his shirt. "You led them here!"

"Led who here?!" Edward said as he pulled himself away from his grasp. "I came here on my own! I didn't bring anyone here!" He said in a defensive tone.

She glared at him for a moment, but then the door was slammed open. A group of soldiers barged in and two of them took hold of Juliet before she had a chance to transmute. A moment later, three soldiers surrounded Edward and pointed their guns at him. He held his hands up and glared at them.

"So you were hiding in a filthy place like this?" A man asked as he entered the room.

Edward's eyes widen as he spotted the man. "King... Bradley..." He gasped.

The man looked over at him at the mention of his name. "And who is this young fellow?" He asked as he came over to Edward. The soldiers moved out the way and Edward glared at the man.

"_Why is he here?!" _He wondered as he glared at the man.

"Don't you know it's rude to not look at someone in the eye!" Edward spat. He needed to know if he was the same.

The man raised an eyebrow, but opened his eyes. Edward mentally sighed, both of his eyes were a normal brown.

"You've got some guts, kid." The man praised. "Just who is he?" He asked and turned to Juliet.

"He's just a traveler that needed a place to stay!" Juliet said as she fought in the guards' grasp. "He has nothing to do with anything!"

The man contemplated this for a moment, "Kill him." He ordered.

"Sir!" Three soldiers said and pointed their guns at Edward.

"Stop!" Juliet yelled.

Edward chuckled a bit. "Sorry, but I can't die just yet." He said and kicked the gun out of one of the soldier's hands. He took the gun and hit the two others in the head.

Juliet felt the slight loosening of the guards' grasp and took the chance to escape. She slipped her arms out and clapped her hands before slamming them into the ground. The wooden floor of cabin curved upwards and created a small dome around each of the remaining soldiers, including Bradley.

"Lets go!" She said and dragged Edward out the cabin only to come face to face with at least a dozen other soldiers surrounding them. They all simultaneously raised their guns and aimed for the two adolescents.

"Damn it!" Juliet cursed as she clapped her hands and slammed her hands into the ground again. The light flickered and the ground beneath the soldiers caved in. The soldiers all yelped in surprise as they fell in.

Edward was impressed. She could use Alchemy in this world and to such an extent that it seemed natural.

"Now is not the time to be day dreaming!" Juliet scowled as she dragged Edward along the path where he had come from. By now the path was covered with shadows, the only light coming from the moon above them.

"Just what did you do to make the angry?!" Edward asked as they ran down the path, the cool air stinging their lungs.

"It's what I didn't do!" She said and made and plummeted straight into the trees. Edward nearly tripped while trying to make the turn and follow her.

"What do you mean?!" Edward asked as a branch slapped him in the face. "Ow!"

"It's a long story!" Juliet said as the clearing came in view, the glow of the village lights finally in sight. "I'll tell you later!" She said as they broke through the clearing. The two stood at the edge and stared at the horror scene in front of them. The village was on fire. People ran around yelling out the names of their loved ones, begging for help ,and crying for mercy. In the distance the sound of gunshots rang in their ears and the smell of smoke burned their nostrils.

"What happened here?" Edward finally asked and turned his eyes away from the scene to look at Juliet, but here eyes were glued on the scene.

"... No..." She whispered as she stared in horror at the scene, her green eyes reflecting the flames of a past memory. "Not again." She said and took a step forward.

"Juliet?" Edward asked and reached out for her.

"No!" She screamed and ran right into the burning inferno.

"Jul-"

"There he is!" "Catch him!" "Find the girl too!" "Don't let them escape!"

Edward scowled as he dodged the bullets from the soldiers from within the forest. Edward also plummeted into the burning abyss and the soldiers weren't too far behind him. Edward made a sharp turn and picked up a piece of wood that was on fire. A moment later a soldier came around the corner and Edward bashed him right in the head, knocking him out. More soldiers came and Edward managed to have fended them off with his burning piece of wood. He looked around, eyes raking for Juliet.

"Juliet!"


	3. Chapter 3

Juliet ran through the burning buildings, almost tripping over her dress several times.

"_It's just like it was back then._" She thought as images of a burning house filled her mind. The voices echoed in her mind, calling out to her. Juliet brought her hands to her ears and closed her eyes as she ran.

"_No, no! I won't let it happen again!" _She thought and ran into the center of the village plaza, where a water fountain still sprouted out water, despite the flames. She clapped her hands and slammed her hands into the water. The familiar light flashed around the water as it rose up into the sky like a giant geyser and fanned out to put out the flames.

"There she is!" "Seize her!"

Juliet looked over her shoulder and glared at the soldiers that ran towards her.

"This is all your fault!" She yelled as she extended her arm towards them and a wave of water shot out in the direction of the soldiers, knocking them back several feet.

Juliet looked back up at the water that worked to put out the flames. The ashes and cinders slowly dancing their way into the sky, creating the image of small fireflies. It wasn't long before more soldiers came after her, but she simply pushed them away with the water.

Edward ran through the streets, managing to get by several soldiers since most of them thought he was just a villager. Then he saw the giant geyser of water shoot up into the sky and slowly started to put the flames out. Edward narrowed his eyes and darted off in that direction, but someone ran into him before he got far. It was a woman, her face smudged by ashes and tears.

"Help me, please!" She begged as she clinged to Edward's shirt. "My daughter she's trapped!" She said and pointed to a building nearby that was on fire and seemed like it would collapse at any moment. "Please! She's all I have!" She said and fell to her knees and sobbed.

Edward looked at the woman for a moment and then ran towards the building. He entered the burning building and immediately was greeted by falling cinders. The smoke burned his eyes and he squinted as he tried to make out what was what.

"Is anyone here?!" He yelled as he looked around. "If you can hear me, say something!"

"Mommy!" A girl's voice yelled from upstairs. "Mommy!"

Edward bolted up the stairs that collapsed under his weight as he ran up the stairs.

"_Jeez, I'm not that fat." _He thought as he looked back at what was once the stairwell. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of the girl's muffled coughing. He followed the sound and kicked down the door in order to enter the room. He looked around and spotted a small girl in the corner of the room, on the very of passing out from the lack of oxygen. Edward ran to her and scooped her up.

"Hey, stay with me, okay?" He said as he turned on his heels and headed back. The floor creaked under the pressure of his foot and gave out. Edward jumped back a bit to avoid the falling debris. He cursed under his breath and looked behind him at the window.

"Why do I always find myself jumping out of windows?!" He yelled as he crashed through the window and used his body to protect the girl from any falling glass. He landed on the ground and rolled a few feet away from the building just as it collapsed on itself. He coughed a bit and checked to make sure the girl was okay. She was fine, but a bit dazed. He sighed in relief and stood to his feet, the girl still in his arms.

"Amber! Amber!" The woman yelled as she took the girl from his arms. "Thank goodness!" She sobbed as she held her daughter close to her. "Thank you, thank you so much." She said through teary eyes.

"Don't mention it." Edward said and ran off, heading back towards the geyser in the sky. The closer he got, the less flames he saw and the more unconscious soldiers he saw. He finally slowed down when he spotted Juliet staring at the water in a dazed state.

"Juliet!" He said and snapped her back to reality. "Juliet we have to get out of here." He said and grabbed her arm.

"No, wait!" She said and pulled her arm out his grip. "I have to fix this!" She said.

"There are still soldiers around here! If we stay here, you'll get caught." He shot back. Juliet didn't respond, but clearly tensed up. Edward took ahold of her arm and dragged her away. "Come on." He said as they began to run.

"... I'm sorry..." Juliet whispered as they ran by the burning buildings that they geyser couldn't reach. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

"Here." Edward said and tossed an apple to Juliet.

"Thanks." She said as she caught it, but continued to stare out the window.

Edward sighed and sat down across from her. At the moment they were staying in a town nearby the town that had burned down last night. Rumors and stories of it had already spread to the town they were staying in. All had the same story that it had to do with the Red Witch and her fury, but not a single one included anything about the army.

"If you don't eat, you'll get sick." Edward said as he took a bite out of his own apple.

"I know." Juliet said and turned her attention to her apple. "So how did it go?" She asked, changing the subject.

Edward rubbed his head, "Well, seems like my old man has some important things to do, so he isn't of much help." He shrugged and took another bite of his apple. "Looks like we're stuck here for a while."

Juliet sighed, "We can't stay here for that long. They move quickly."

"Who is 'they'?" Edward asked.

"The army." She said and looked back out the window, watching a few people pass down below them.

"Why is the army after you anyway?" Edward asked and took another bite of his apple. "You said you would tell me."

"Just because I said something doesn't mean I meant it." Juliet replied dully as she finally took a bite of her apple.

"What?!" Edward said as he stood up and glared down at Juliet. "Come on! I'm the one who's hiding you right now! It's the least you could do!"

"The least I could do is teach you Alchemy." Juliet said and looked up at Edward with a calm expression as she took another bite of her apple. "Besides it's not like you would turn me in. You need me, don't you?" She challenged.

Edward's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Look here, kid."

"Don't call someone who is taller than you a kid." Juliet said and smoothed out the skirt of her dress.

"You're only taller than me because of those boots you wear!" Edward growled.

Juliet placed her apple on the nightstand beside the bed and stood up. She kicked off her boots and shrunk down a few inches. She placed her hands on her hips and smirked.

"I'm still taller than you." She taunted.

"Are not! We're the same size! If anything you're the short one!" Edward said as he clashed heads with her.

"What was that pipsqueak?" Juliet said as she moved back and slammed her forehead against his.

Edward stumbled back a bit with his hand over the red mark on his forehead, but Juliet's forehead was also a bit red.

"Who you calling a pipsqueak, you, you, flea!" Edward yelled as he pointed at Juliet.

"Flea?!" Juliet said and put her hand to her chest as if she was greatly insulted. "Well at least people can see me! I don't even know where you are." She said and looked around the room as if she were looking for him. "Where'd you go, pipsqueak?"

"What are you blind? I'm right here!" Edward said and headbutt her as payback for earlier. However, Juliet didn't even flinch and they engaged in a tug-of-war, but with their foreheads and they were pushing, not exactly tugging.

"Who you calling blind, shortstack?!" Juliet growled as her eye twitched.

"Witch!" "Midget!" "Grandma!" "Chibi!" "Jalapeno!(You know, cause her hair is red)" "Shorty!" "Demon!"

_**Knock, Knock**_

"WHAT?!" They both yelled in unison as they turned to the door, but then turned to glare at each other.

"... there's a phone call for the young lady." The man on the other side of the door said.

"About time he called back." Juliet said as she headed to the door. "Oh, and don't get lost in the covers, blondie." Juliet smirked as she exited the room, she could practically feel Edward's glare on her as she left. She chuckled as she walked down the stairs to the phone. "Hello?" She answered as she placed the phone to her ear.

"I heard you were on the run again." The voice on the other side of the line said.

"Yeah, and just when I was getting comfortable." Juliet said and leaned against the wall, keeping a careful watch on the few people in the room.

"So what are you going to do?"

"For now I'm staying in a hotel in a nearby town with some boy named Edward Elric." Juliet said as she inspected her nails.

"Edward Elric?"

"Yeah, mind doing some research for me? This kid knows about _it_ and claims to be from the other side of the gate." Juliet said in a whisper.

"Someone else that knows about _it_? Edward Elric, right?"

"Mhm, that's him. Tell me what you find. I'll probably be here for one more day before we get moving." She said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "It won't be long before they come searching here."

"And the village?"

Juliet was silent for a moment. "It was burned down."

"Hm, they're as irrational as always."

Juliet scoffed, "That's an understatement." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I'll be waiting for your call and if you can't find anything before we leave, I'll call you from the next place."

"Are you coming here?"

"... Possibly, but I don't know. I have to make sure I keep a close eye on this Edward guy. He might be able to tell me about the things I don't know."

"Like your past?"

"... Yeah... Anyway, I'll talk to you later." Juliet said as she pushed herself off the wall.

"Be careful."

"Yeah, I know, bye." She said and hung up the phone. She sighed and turned around and ran right into someone. "Sorry." She said and moved back a bit. "Edward? Were you eavesdropping on me?!" She said as she glared at him.

"Hush." Edwards said and pushed her into a corner of the room. A hand on either side of her and his body almost touching hers.

"What are yo-"

"Shush!" He demanded and looked over his shoulder.

Juliet looked over his shoulder and gasped at the sight. There was a group of soldiers coming into the hotel.

"Already?" She said and cursed under her breath.

"Shh, they're coming." Edward said and turned back to face her.

The two of them stayed quiet as they waited for the soldiers to pass and hoped that they would leave them alone. Once they were gone, Edward pushed himself away and looked around.

"Come on." Edward said as he grabbed Juliet's arm and dragged her towards the back door.

"Wait, what about our things?" She asked as she looked over her shoulder.

"What things? My suitcase probably became ashes yesterday." Edward said as they rushed out the hotel into the alleyways.

"I had my boots in there!" She said as she lifted up her dress to show her bare feet.

"I'll buy you new ones later." Edward said as they began to run down the alleyways.

"You better." Juliet mumbled as they made a turn, her foot splashing into a puddle of who knows what. She cringed a bit and hoped that it was just water.

After a few minutes the finally decided to come out of the alleyways and into the streets. It was no surprise that their were soldiers everywhere they looked.

"Persistent bastards, aren't they?" Edward mumbled as they merged with the crowd.

"Tell me about it." Juliet said as she tried to keep her head down and hoped that her hair color wouldn't attract too much unneeded attention. She then linked her arm with his.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked as he looked around at the soldiers.

"Just play along." Juliet said and pointed at some random marketplace. "It's not like I want to do this. Especially with someone as short as you." She snickered.

"For the last time we're the same size." Edward said and forced a smile as he waved at some random bystander.

"Keep telling yourself that, kid." She said and laughed as if he had just told a funny joke.

"Hey, you two!"

Edward and Juliet turned to see one of the soldiers pointing right at them.

"Time to go." Edward said as they began to run.

"Hey, stop them!"

It wasn't long before they had a group of soldiers hot on their heels. They weaved through the crowd, making plenty of complicated and unnecessary turns. They jumped over barrels and knocked down trash cans as well as push a few people into the soldiers.

"Do you even know where you're going?!" Juliet asked as she spotted a familiar building that they passed by a few times.

"Nope!" Edward said and took another right turn.

Juliet deadpanned, "Then why are you leading?!" She yelled as they almost ran into a group of soldiers.

They turned on their heels, but there was a group right behind them. The two had their backs against each other as they glared at the group of at least twenty soldiers surrounding them.

"Surrender! You're surrounded!" One of the soldiers said and took a step forward.

"Jeez, see what you've done?" Juliet growled and ignored the soldier's order.

"Put your hands up above your head!" The soldier ordered.

"Well, you should've lead the way if you're so great." Edward mumbled as he rolled his eyes.

"Trust me, I will next time." She said as she clapped her hands and slammed them into the ground. The light flashed and the ground under the soldiers shot up at least twenty feet into the air. "Come on, you idiot." She said as she stood up and dragged Edward away.

* * *

"Jeez, my feet are sore." Juliet mumbled as she sat on the ground of the forest.

Edward sighed and turned around to face her. "Come on." Edward said and offered his hand to help her up.

She groaned, but took his hand and stood to her feet. "Just how long have we been walking?"

Edward looked at his wrist watch. "Two hours." He replied as he began walking.

"And we still haven't reached another town?" She asked as she followed him, her feet starting become raw because of the difficult terrain.

"It's not that we haven't reached one, we're trying to avoid them." Edward replied as he moved a branch out of his way.

"What? I need to get to a town." Juliet said with a sigh.

"What for?" Edward asked and looked over his shoulder at her.

"I need to call a friend of mine." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest and ducked under a tree branch.

Edward sighed and looked around, "The military is probably in all the surrounding towns looking for you. We can't do anything until they calm down a bit."

"Or I can disguise myself." She said in a 'duh' type of tone.

"With what?" He asked, but a moment later realized it.

She stopped and looked around. She picked up a few rocks and set them on the ground. She clapped her hands and slammed them on the ground near the small pile of rocks. A moment later there was a primitive form of a knife where the pile of rocks had been.

"What are you going to do with that?" Edward asked as she picked it up and stood to her feet. She didn't reply and simply took her braid and chopped it off. Her hair now barely reached her chin and a few strands were longer than the others, but not by a lot.

"Watcha think?" Juliet asked as she looked at the braid of hair in her hand.

"Hm," Edward said as he tapped his chin and looked her over. It did make a difference, although he didn't know many people who had red hair as noticeable as hers. "Not bad." He shrugged.

She smirked and looked around. "Ah, there's one." She said and clapped her hands and placed them on a tree nearby. A second later a small wooden cage fell into her hands. She opened it up and held the squirrel in. "Hold still, will you?" She said as she tied her braid onto it. "Hmm." She said and placed it on the ground. It ran away, the braid luckily clinging onto it. "That should get those military dogs off our trail." She said and watched as the animal disappeared.

"That's a nice trick." Edward said. "I'll remember that." He said as they began to walk again. Juliet flinched a bit and stopped for a moment. "Something wrong?"

"... Just stepped on a rock..." Juliet said as she lifted her foot to see the knife she had created. "... Yup, just a rock." She said with a nervous laugh. "I'll just make myself some shoes... made of dirt." She said as she clapped her hands and slammed her hands into the ground.

The ground around her feet crawled onto them and slowly conformed itself to them. There were a few pebbles in the dirt that Juliet used to create the soles of the shoes and added a heel to them. She stood up and walked around a bit.

"It'll do... for now." Juliet said as she and took the lead this time.

"Who said you could lead?" Edward mumbled as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Juliet raised an eyebrow at him, "You want to lead? With your sense of direction? Ha, funny." She laughed and turned her attention back to where she was walking. "May I remind you about what happened back in the previous town?"

"I wasn't trying to get us out of the town! I was trying to get away from the soldiers." Edward explained.

"Wouldn't have leaving the village been the best way to get away from the soldiers?" She asked as she swatted away a fly.

"... I didn't think of that..." Edward mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest, slightly pouting.

Juliet chuckled, "It's okay, shortstack." She said and ruffled his hair. "You're not the brightest lightbulb.

"I'm not short!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Hahahaha! To think that we'd end up in this town!" Juliet said as she stood at the entrance of the town. A giant wooden sign stood above them with the name of the town carved into it. "It must be my lucky day." She said and dragged Edward into the town.

"You know this place?" Edward asked as he looked around. It wasn't any different from any other town that he'd been in or the one that he lived in.

"Yeah, a good friend of mine lives here." Juliet said as she maneuvered through the crowd. "He was the one that called at that hotel two days ago." She said.

"Are you sure the military isn't here then?" Edward asked as he cautiously looked around, trying to pick out any soldiers from the crowd.

"Maybe." Juliet shrugged. "They haven't come here yet, so it's okay." She said and stopped in front of a store. "You said you were going to buy me a new pair of shoes, didn't you?" She asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

Edward blinked and looked up at the store. It was a shoe store. "Yeah, but is now really the best time to buy shoes? Can't we just get to your friend's house first?" He asked with a sweatdrop.

Juliet tapped her chin and thought about this for a moment. "Hm, actually, that's a better idea. I can make him buy me some shoes. Expensive shoes." She silently laughed and smiled. "Alright, let's go." She said and once again proceeded to drag Edward away.

"_Jeez, she's some odd chick." _Edward thought as he let himself be dragged away.

After about five minutes of walking they both agreed on taking a cab to Juliet's friend's place. Although, they didn't speak much during the ride there. It was almost as if they had worn out their insults during the two day walk to the town. In reality, they both had their minds busy with the matters at hand. Edward wondered about how to go about getting back to his world. It wouldn't be an easy task, he would need to follow the Law of Equivalent Exchange as well as the others. He also wondered if Juliet would even agree to help him with that. After all she only said that she would teach him Alchemy, but if it were that simple, he would have already been using Alchemy on his own.

Juliet, on the other hand, wondered about why Edward couldn't use Alchemy if he was from the other side of the gate. Maybe it was because he was from that side of the gate that he couldn't use it, but why could he remember his past before coming over. Or did everyone remember their past life? If that were true, it would scratch out the possibility of her coming from that side of the gate since she couldn't remember anything past seeing The Truth.

Juliet glanced at Edward, who at the moment was staring at her, but not. There were so many unanswered questions around the two of them, but who would be the first one to find those answers? Would they even find those answers?

The car came to a stop and snapped the two out of their thoughts. They were in front of two large iron gates that were seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Edward payed the driver while Juliet opened the large gate. The two started walking up the long drive way to the top of the small hill where a large house was situated.

"Just who is this friend of yours?" Edward asked as they stood at the steps of the large mansion.

"He's a retired soldier." Juliet said as she began walking up the steps.

"Oh... Wait, what?!" Edward said and caught up to her. "Aren't we trying to run away from the military?!"

"Yeah, he's not part of it anymore." Juliet said as she rolled her eyes. "Retired! R-E-T-I-R-E-D! Besides he helped me escape the first time around." She said as she knocked on the large wooden doors.

Edward sighed in irritation, "You better explain this to me later." He mumbled as the doors opened.

"What business do you have here?" An old man dressed in a black suit asked. He was the butler of the house and eyed the two suspiciously. They both looked like the typical street rats with their dirt covered clothes and faces.

"I'm here to speak with your master." Juliet stated simply. "I'm the one who called him two days prior for information."

The butler's eyes momentarily widen, "Miss Juliet." The man said as he stepped out the way and ushered the two in. "Forgive me, I did not recognize you." He apologized.

"It's fine." Juliet said and waved it off. "I doubt even Roy would recognize me at the moment."

"Roy?" Edward said as he stared at Juliet. "As in... Roy Mustang?" He asked.

Juliet raised an eyebrow at him. "You know him?"

"... I've heard of him." Edward said and looked around. "_To think that I'd end up running into the Roy of this world to." _

In front of him there were two staircases on opposite walls, both leading to the second floor. In between the two staircases there was a hallway that seemed to disappear into the shadows of the mansion. To his right and left there were also hallways that disappeared into the shadows of the house. Along the walls of the room there were several him, above where the main doors were located, there was a large window that let in plenty of light.

"He's pretty famous for his efforts in the war." She said as she started going up the stairs. "Come on." She said and motioned for him to follow her. "Roy is in his study, right?" She asked the butler who stood by the main entrance.

"Yes, he's in there with Miss Hawkeye." The butler replied.

"Of course." Juliet smiled as they reached the second floor. "Honestly, he needs to hurry up and propose to her." She said as she inspected her nails. "I want to see what a grand wedding they would have."

Edward chuckled at the thought of seeing the two marry. Although, it wouldn't be a bad match or at least back in his world it wasn't. He wondered if they did get married while he was gone.

"_That would be just like him." _Edward thought in slight annoyance. "_Do all the fun things while I'm gone."_

"Shortstack!" Juliet yelled in Edward's ear.

"Who are you calling short?!" Edward yelled back as he snapped back to reality.

"Well, you weren't answering when I said your name!" She growled and flicked his forehead.

"Ow!" He said and placed his hand on his forehead while glaring at Juliet. "What the hell was that for?" He demanded.

"For being short." She snickered as she turned to the door in front of her. "Now shut up." She said and knocked on the door twice.

"Come in."

She opened the door and entered the room, Edward not too far behind her. The room itself was pretty dark. Only a few rays of light coming in from the curtained windows. The room's wall were lined with bookshelves and stacks of paper covered the desk wooden desk.

"Jeez, this place is a mess as usual." Juliet said dully as she kicked a book by her foot. "Where's Riza? Isn't she supposed to be keeping you in check?"

The man from behind the desk stood up and sighed. His short black hair a disheveled mess along with his shirt.

"What about you?" Roy asked. "You look like a mess yourself." He said as he walked over to the two. Juliet shrugged in response. "And I'm guessing this is Edward Elric?" He said as he looked to Edward. "I was expecting him to be taller."

Edward's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "And I was expecting you to be more grand." He shot back.

"Yes, yes, and I expect the two of you to be mature." Juliet said and stepped in between the two.

"Says the one that makes up childish insults every five seconds." Edward mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. Juliet glared at Edward and raised her hand to hit him.

Roy chuckled, distracting Juliet just enough so that Edward could avoid her hit.

"What are you laughing at?" Juliet snapped as she glared at Roy. "And where's Riza?"

"Right here." Riza replied as she walked into the office. "So you finally cut your hair." She said as she handed a stack of papers to Roy.

"Ah, yeah." Juliet said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "It was necessary."

"Well, you did a pretty crappy job at it." Roy said as he headed back to his clustered desk and dropped the stack of papers on the already standing stack.

Juliet's eye twitched in annoyance, "I know that." She mumbled as she glared at Roy, who was busying himself with the several stacks of paper on his desk.

"Riza, why don't you help Juliet her hair?" Roy said as he held up a stack of papers. "Oh, and here." He said and handed the papers to Juliet.

Juliet looked over the papers and tucked them under her arm, "Thanks, oh, and I need shoes, and a bath, and clothes, and a meal." She said as she headed out the door. "Oh, and so does Shortstack."

"I'm not short!" Edward shouted as Riza and Juliet left the office. Edward glared at the door and mumbled to himself.

"So Edward," Roy said as he sat down on one of the couches. "How's your father?"

Edward's eyes widen and his head snapped in Roy's direction. "You..." He said. "_Could it be..." _

"He was one of the men that helped General Churchill during the war, right?" Roy asked as he leaned back a bit.

"_... No, he's not the Roy I know..." _ Edward thought. "How do you know?" Edward asked and turned to completely face Roy.

"Juliet asked for a background check." Roy replied with a shrug.

Edward narrowed his eyes, this Roy was as cunning as the one on the other side. "What do you know?"

"Nothing, there isn't anything interesting on record about you." Roy said as he stretched his arms out on the couch. "But I did hear that you knew about _it._"

Edward sat down on the couch across from Roy. "Yeah." He said and shrugged. "I know about _it_."

"And you're also from the other side of the gate." Roy continued as he watched Edward carefully.

"Juliet told you this, didn't she?" Edward asked as he picked up the book beside him and flipped through the pages. "Don't you think you guys should tell me something in return?" He asked as he closed the book and put it back down. "You know, Equivalent Exchange."

Roy smirked, "I suppose, what is it that you want to know?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why is the army after Juliet?" Edward asked as he leaned forward a bit.

Roy stiffened a bit, but relaxed himself a moment later. "Isn't it obvious? It's because she can use Alchemy. They want to use her as weapon." Roy explained.

Edward shook his head, "That's not what I meant." He said and sighed. "Why? Why do they know that she can use Alchemy? Do they know what Alchemy is?" Edward said and restated his question. "This world isn't supposed to know about Alchemy, much less use it, but she... she can do it like it's nothing."

Roy studied Edward for a moment before he stood up and walked over to window, Edward keeping a close eye on him. Roy opened the curtains and let in a bit of sunlight. Roy stared off into the mountains of the valley and thought back a few years.

"The army has always had theories about 'magic' or as you would call it, Alchemy." Roy began. "Six years ago I was put in charge of that division of research. Although, I always thought that it was absurd, but as time passed by... it became more and more logical. However, we never made it far. The most we could come up was theories about transmutation circles." He said and paused. "A year later we reached a breakthrough."

* * *

"Lieutenant Colonel!" A man said as he burst through the doors of Roy's office. Roy was buried in stacks and stacks of papers, all pertaining to transmutations circles and the mysterious around them. Roy looked up from the research paper he was reading.

"What is it?" Roy asked as he put his paper down.

"Sir, you should come look at this." The man said as he straightened up a bit.

Roy looked over at Riza, who had been organizing his files. The two followed the man out the office and down to the laboratories. They entered the fifth laboratory were a crowd of military researchers stood surrounding one of the transmutation circles that had been carved into the ground.

"What is going on here?" Roy demanded as he pushed his way through the crowd, Riza not too far behind him.

They broke through the crowd of researchers and at the center of them there was a young child that looked no older than twelve. The strange thing about this child was that for one she was naked, and two, her hair was crimson red.

"What is this child doing here?" Roy demanded as he took a step towards the child, but the child panicked at the sudden movement.

She slammed her small hands into the ground, the circle lit up and the ground shook underneath them. Riza pulled out her gun and aimed at the child. The child stared up at the several people in horror and brought her hands up and prepared to slam her hands into the ground again.

"Wait!" Roy said and held his arm out to stop Riza. Riza lowered her gun, but stayed on guard. "She's frightened." He said and motioned for everyone to slowly back away. They did as they were told and Roy slowly took a step forward, keeping his hands up as a sign of peace.

"It's alright, we won't hurt you." Roy said as he kneeled in front of the girl who seemed terrified out of her skin. "It's alright." He said as he took off his jacket and placed it over her.

* * *

"That girl was Juliet?" Edward asked as Roy turned away from the window.

"Yes, no one is quite sure of how she got there, but it happened." Roy said with a sigh. "At first she was nothing, but some sort of gate of information." Roy explained as he ran his fingers over his desk. "She explained Alchemy to us, the Laws, Principles, Transmutations Circles." Roy said and closed his eyes for a moment. "But we still couldn't use it, no matter how much she told us."

"So then what?" Edward asked.

"She ran away." Roy replied. "And I was the one to help her with that. Shortly afterward I was put out on the front lines." He shrugged. "They knew that I had something to do with it, but they wouldn't kill me for it, at least not directly. By the time I had finally arrive to the front lines, the war was practically over. So I survived and was discharged."

Edward thought over what Roy had told him. It did explain a few things, but it arose new questions. There was still much that needed to answered, that needed to be explained.

"Anyway, why don't you go clean yourself up." Roy said, snapping Edward out of his thoughts. "I can smell you from over here."

Edward rolled his eyes and stood to his feet. "Are you sure that isn't just the office?" He shot back.

Roy chuckled, "You're a cocky brat." He said as he led Edward out of his office.

"Thanks." Edward said with a smirk as he followed Roy.

"But you know, I still have questions for you." Roy said as they went up the stairs onto the third floor. "I'm sure we can continue this when you've cleaned yourself up." He said and stopped at the second door. "This is where you'll be staying, there's a bathroom and shower. Make sure you don't make too much of a mess." Roy said as he opened the door.

"Hmph, yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Edward said as he entered the room. It was as fancy as he expected it to be. A large window on the opposite side of the wall with red curtains draping over it. A large bed sitting against the right wall and across from it was the dresser and the door that led to the bathroom.

"There are some spare clothes in the dresser and towels as well." Roy said. "Dinner is at six." He said and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Edward stood in the room just admiring it for a few minutes. He stretched himself out a bit and checked the time. It was three thirty-two.

"Might as well go ahead and get cleaned." He said to himself as he grabbed a towel out the dresser and headed to the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

"So has Roy proposed yet?" Juliet asked with a smirk as Riza combed through her hair.

Riza nearly dropped the comb and blushed. "W-what kind of question is that?!" Riza stammered.

Juliet laughed, "Oh, come on, it's obvious that you two have a thing for each other." She said as Riza began to cut the longer strands of hair.

Riza's blush deepened and she 'accidentally' pulled Juliet's hair. "I have no side what you're talking about." She said stubbornly.

Juliet glared at Riza and stuck her tongue out at her. "Sure you don't."

"Anyway," Riza said, changing the subject. "What about this boy that you've brought

here? Who is he?" She asked and clipped off a few more strands if Juliet's hair.

"That's what I'm about to find out." Juliet said as she read through the papers Roy had

given her. "His name is Edward Elric." She began. "He's from London, England and is 17 yrs old. Born February 3, 1906." She said and looked up for a moment.

_"Hmm... that's in a week or so..." _Juliet thought as she looked back at the paper. She

continued reading and noticed that in the past two years he's done an awful lot of travelling and studying in Germany.

"Seems like he's interested in rocketry..." Juliet mumbled as Riza placed a mirror in front

of Juliet. Juliet studied herself in the mirror. Her hair was styled in a Bob cut with strict bangs that ended just above her eyebrows. "Not bad." She said with a smile.

"Well, you should probably go clean yourself up." Riza said as Juliet stood up, dusting off

the hair from her dress.

"Yeah, I am. I feel so filthy right now." Juliet said and headed to the to the room where she

usually stayed. "I'll see you at dinner."

Juliet walked into her to her room and placed the papers on the bed.

_"He says he's from the other side of the gate, but..."_ She thought as she took off her

dress. _"But if thats true, then why are there records of him here? Like the birth certificate... or is it a fake?" _She wondered as she wrapped a towel around herself and headed to the bathroom.

_"Just who is this guy?"_

* * *

Edward walked aimlessly through the halls of the mansion. He had taken his shower and changed into clean clothes. He had planned on staying in the room, but he got bored after five minutes.

"This place is bigger than I expected." Edward mumbled to himself as he walked through

the halls, which were lined with several paintings and portraits.

"I wonder if he's the only one that stays in this place..." Ed said as he took note of all the

doors. "He's probably just spoiling himself." He said and rolled his eyes. Then he came to the end of the hall where a pair of double doors stood. Edward looked around the empty hall and smirked.

"This must be his room." He said and rubbed his hands together in an evil

manner. He quietly opened the doors and poked his head in. "Whoa..." He said and gazed at the rows of shelves filled with books. It was the library and it was huge. Edward entered the room, making sure to quietly close the door. "This guy must have a book about everything..." Edward mumbled as he walked by the first row, inspecting the titles of the books.

He took anything that caught his eye and placed them on one of the wooden tables hidden within the maze of books. Most of the books were actually military files on rocketry and some on the legends of different worlds, magic, ect. It wasn't long before he was on the second floor looking for more books on the same topics. However, he came across a book without a title and was practically begging to be picked up. Edward pulled the book out from the shelf and inspected it. It was a dull colored green and many pages seemed to be on the verge of falling out, not to mention that the pages weren't even white anymore, and the edges of the book seemed to have been burned at some point in time. Edward opened the book and a small piece of paper fell out of it and onto the floor. Edward looked around for a moment before he picked up the small paper. It was a picture of a small girl, no older than six years of age, she had short coffee colored hair and forest green eyes. She was wearing a sun hat that was a few sizes too big and matching summer dress. The only odd thing about the picture is that the girl was crying. Edward knitted his eyebrows in thought, something about the picture seemed familiar.

"Edward, are you in here?" Riza asked as she entered the room, startling Edward.

"Y-yeah! I'm up here." Edward said as he fumbled with the book and placed it back on the

shelf. He made a mental note to come back and check out that book.

"You should tell someone where you wander off to." Riza said as Ed came down to the

first floor. "We were starting to think that you had been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? I've only been in here for ..." Ed trailed off as he noticed the time. "Two

hours..." He said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Riza smoked and shook her head. "Come on," she said and motioned to him to follow her. "Dinner is ready."

Edward's stomach growled at the mention of food and both the two looked at his stomach questioningly.

"Haha..." Edward laughed nervously.

Riza laughed a bit, "Come on."

* * *

"Sir," A soldier said as he saluted the general. "We have found a trail that leads south of here and back towards the village."

"Back towards the village?" Bradley said and glanced at the soldier. Bradley looked at the map on the desk and looked at the surrounding towns.

"But..." The soldier began. "We also found one that leads to the west." The soldier said.

"West of here..." Bradley trailed off as he looked at the towns located west of their position. "Well, well," He said as a devilish smile came across his face. "Follow the trail west." He ordered.

"Yes, sir!" The soldier said and saluted the general once more before heading to tell the others.

"Smart move, Juliet." Bradley said as he looked towards the setting sun. "But you can't outsmart me."

* * *

"Will you stop with the pipsqueak jokes?!" Edward roared as he angrily ate his food.

"This is too easy." Juliet whispered to Roy, who nodded in approval.

"Watch this." Roy said with a smirk. "You know, you're right." He began.

"Oh, yeah?! Well you're... wait, I'm right?" Edward asked as he looked at Roy in confusion.

Roy nodded his head, "After all you are _short_ of temper." He said and held back a laugh.

Edward's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he glared at him. "Why you..."

"You know, I would join you two..." Riza began as she took a sip of her drink. "But I wouldn't want to _stoop_ to your level." She said and giggled.

"You too?!" Edward yelled and let his head fall onto the table in defeat.

The rest of dinner didn't change much after that. The three made fun of Edward's shortness and Edward tried to retaliate, but he was outnumbered.

"You guys are cruel." Edward sulked as they walked out of the dining room.

"And you're short." Juliet said with a smile and smacked his back, almost making him fall.

"Will you shut up!" Edward growled as he glared at the girl.

She shrugged, "I thought we were pointing out the obvious."

"Ah, that reminds me." Roy said, stopping the two from further fighting. "I have something for you, Juliet."

Juliet raised an eyebrow, "You? Have something? For me?" She asked. "... What a miracle." She snickered. Edward and Riza both chuckled at her statement.

Roy held back his desire to smack the girl upside the head and settled for a smile instead. "Well, I was only trying to be kind, but if you don't want it..." He trailed off as he headed in the opposite direction of the others.

"I never said I didn't want it!" Juliet said and followed Roy. "Unless it's death... you can have that." She said.

"Haha, keep joking and you really will get it." Roy threatened as they headed back towards his office.

"You guys are witnesses if he tries to kill me." Juliet said to Edward and Riza.

"He's not going to kill you." Riza reassured.

"I don't know... he might do it." Edward snickered.

"Shut it, pipsqueak." Roy growled as they all came into the office.

"Who are you calling short?!" Edward yelled and lunged at Roy, who just moved out the way. Edward ending up diving into a stack of books and papers on the floor, causing a mini avalanche.

"You're cleaning that up." Roy said as he reached for a package behind his desk. It wasn't anything fancy, it was a rectangle shaped box wrapped in brown paper and tied with white string. "Here." He said and handed it to Juliet.

Juliet took the package and inspected it. "... Is this a bomb?" She asked.

Roy closed his eyes in frustration as a tic mark appeared on his forehead. "No, It's not a bomb."

"Open it." Riza said, trying to stop the fight that was brewing.

"Hmm, okay." Juliet said as she untied the string and took off the wrapping. "You gave me a black case?" She said as she held up the case to the light to inspect it.

"Look inside the case." Roy said with a sigh at how dumb she could be.

Juliet unzipped the case and nearly spazzed from the excitement. "IT'S A FLUTE!" She said happily as she eagerly began to put it together. "AND IT'S GOLD!" She said as she brought the instrument close to her. "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" She thanked.

"It wasn't my idea." Roy said plainly and pointed over to Riza. "Thank her."

Juliet spun on her heels and hugged the woman. "THANK YOU!"

Riza smiled and pat the girl's head. "You're welcome. Why don't you try it out?"

Juliet didn't waste a second and began to play the flute, at first doing simple things such as scales and then moving onto more complex things. Roy and Riza were completely unphased by it, they had heard her play before and by now were used to it. However, Edward, on the other hand, was astonished. He didn't expect Juliet to be musically inclined, muchless at such a degree.

"It's perfect!" Juliet said and stopped playing to tackle the two. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." She repeated over and over again.

"Alright, alright." Roy said with a smile as Juliet let them go. "Well, I'm sure you'd like to go off and see what else that flute is capable of." He said as he straightened out his clothes. "Go run along now and try it to your hearts content." He said.

"I will." She beamed as she took the case and was out of the room before anyone else could say another word. For a moment, the room was silent and all eyes were focused on the door, which Juliet just had left out of.

"So Edward," Roy said, breaking the silence and bringing all eyes to him. "About the conversation we had earlier today."

"What about it?" Edward asked as he plopped down on the couch, while Riza began to restack the books that had been knocked down.

"Under no circumstances must you bring it up around Juliet." Roy said in a serious tone.

"What? Why not?" Edward asked in confusion.

"Don't ask questions." Roy said. "Just do as your told."

Edward eyed Roy suspiciously, but decided not to press the matter further. "Fine." He said and leaned back a bit. Then he remembered the book from earlier. He was about to ask Roy about it, but decided against it. Roy would probably end up confiscating the book if it was something of interest.

Edward yawned in a dramatic fashion. "Ah, well, I tired." He said as he stood up and stretched a bit. "Walking around for two days really wears the body out." He said and headed for the door. "We can finish this tomorrow." He said and left the room without a further word.

Edward walked down the hall with his hands in his pockets, looking over his shoulder every once in awhile to make sure that they didn't follow him. When he reached the double doors, he came to realize that they were locked.

"_They're locked?" _He thought to himself as he stared at the doors in wonder. "_What kind of people lock the doors to the library?"_ He thought, a bit aggravated that he wouldn't be able to take a better look at that book. He sighed and decided to head to his room.

On the way there, he came across what he supposed to be Juliet's room because he heard the melody of her flute through the door. He stopped and took a moment to listen to the song. It was very pretty, it kind of reminded him of a walk in the forest. Then he heard a piano join in. He was a bit surprised, but he wasn't complaining. Then it came to a piano solo, which slowed the song dramatically and gave it a more dark tone. The piano slowly faded out of the solo and the spotlight to the flute, which brought slowly brought it back to a happier tone. It wasn't long before the piano came back in and the song ended.

There was a bit of muffled voices on the other side of the door and Edward decided to take his leave. He reached his room, stripped down to his boxers, and plopped onto the bed. He sighed happily at the feeling of the mattress under him.

"It's soooo nice to sleep on a bed again." He said and buried his face into the pillow, until he had to roll over to breath. He sighed and closed his eyes, and stayed like that for several minutes.

"... GAAAHHH! I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT BOOK!" He shouted in frustration as he rolled around on the bed. After a few minutes he rolled off the bed, face first. "O-ow..." He said as the rest of his body hit the floor. He sat up and rubbed his head and sighed again. He leaned against the bed and stared up the ceiling and let his mind wander off.

Soon found himself humming, but he didn't notice until he realized that Juliet was still playing her flute and he was humming the same tune. For a moment he didn't recognize the song, but then it hit him. It was a song that he hadn't heard since his mother's death. It was a lullaby she used to sing it to him and Alphonse when they were younger. Edward stood up and headed towards the door, wondering why Juliet knew the song. He walked through the hallway, trying to follow the the sound of the flute, but it echoed off the empty halls, making it seem like it was coming from everywhere. In the midst of making so many turns, Edward lost his sense of direction and found himself lost.

"... Where the hell am I?!" Edward yelled in frustration as he pulled at his hair. "Gaaahh!" He growled in frustration as he hit his head against the wall and glared at the wall. He mumbled incomprehensible threats about the most random things.

"... Edward?" Juliet asked as she came out of one the rooms. "What are you doing?" She asked and raised an eyebrow.

Edward spun on his heels and put his hands on Juliet's shoulders. "You! How do you know that song?!" He demanded as he slightly shook her.

Juliet looked at him like he was strange and plucked his hands off her shoulders. "I don't remember."

Edward deadpanned, "W-what? You don't remember?"

She shook her head and crossed her arms, "Nope, it's just a song that I've always known." She said shrugged. "Do you recognize it?" She asked.

"Ah, uhm, actually I do." He said as he scratched his cheek. "It was a song my mother used to sing to me and my brother when we were younger."

"When you were on the other side of The Gate?" She asked and he nodded in response. "I see," She said as she brought her hand to her chin in thought. "So that explains why no one on this side of the gate recognizes it. Perhaps I do come from that side of The Gate."

"But that doesn't explain why you know it." Edward said. "That song was something my mother thought of herself." He explained. "We were the only ones that knew of it."

Juliet's eyebrows furrowed in thought, "Hm, are you sure?" She asked.

"Positive." He replied with confidence.

She sighed and shrugged, "Well, that's another mystery for me to solve now." She said as she waved her hands around. "Anyway, go get some sleep." She said as she headed back to her room. "We can sort this out later." She said and yawned.

"Yeah," Edward said as he scratched his head. "... Night..."


End file.
